I travelled to The Hawthorns by myself but met a few Toon fans in Birmingham before making the final leg of the journey to West Brom by Metro.
The main topic of conversation was Shay Given's parting shot at the Toon before his move to City, and it was amazing how 11 years of loyal service was brought to an end by a bizarre statement slagging off the club.
We all know Mike Ashley is the devil in a Toon shirt (although he decided not to bother wearing any more) ... but the reason Given was transfered was because he PUT IN A BLOODY TRANSFER REQUEST!
How many times did Joe Kinnear say: "Shay Given is NOT for sale!"?
How many times did he say: "The club will do anything we can to keep him"?
They even dropped the asking price from £8m to £5.9 ... on Given's asking ... so how the hell can he blame the club?
He was told he was staying at SJP and then he hit the club with an official transfer request, waving his right to a signing on fee.
THE GAME ....
Chris Hughton was in charge of the Magpies after Kinnear had been taken to hospital as a "precautionary measure" after feeling unwell at the team hotel.
Toon Fans Turn On Given!
But goals from Damien Duff, Peter Lovenkrands and Steve Taylor helped lift some of the gloom surrounding Newcastle and sent bottom placed Albion hurtling closer to the relegation trapdoor.
Duff was a constant threat with his pace and trickery while veteran Nicky Butt and new signing Ryan Taylor also made important contributions.
The two new boys impressed us very much. More through the fact they REALLY want to do well for the club, and they were like a breath of fresh air.
The enthusiasm was back, and it spurred on the team simply because the new faces had something to prove ... and the rest got the bug.
It was a performance that had its faults in defence, with Fabricio Coloccini again looking like a fish out of water, but we got the win because we deserved it.
Forget about Tony Mowbray saying West Brom were the better team and deserved the points because of their second-half display, because United did the damage in the FIRST half ... and if his ragamuffin outfit couldn't repair the damage in the SECOND half ... tough shit!
The result is all that mattered.
How we got it ... who cares.
This was the crunch six-pointer we won, and take nothing away from the team for achieving it!
THE GOALS ...
1-0 Newcastle got off to a dream start by taking the lead through Duff after just 75 seconds, following a mistake from Barnett.
Shola Ameobi tried to pick out the run of Duff. Barnett should have cut out the pass, only to stumble and allow the winger a clear run at goal. Duff had all the time in the world to steady himself before drilling the past Scott Carson.
1-1 The home side quickly retaliated and in the fourth minute drew level through Fortune.
Butt gave away possession and this was seized upon by Albion playmaker Borja Valero, who threaded the ball through to Fortune.
He took advantage of a slip on the edge of the box by Steven Taylor and fired a low shot past Steve Harper into the corner of the net.
2-1 Lovenkrands restored Newcastle's lead after nine minutes, volleying in from 15 yards after Butt's cross was volleyed back across goal by Ryan Taylor.
3-1 The Albion defence was non-existent when Steven Taylor stretched Newcastle's lead after 41 minutes.
Ryan Taylor's corner flew straight across the box with Meite ball-watching as Steven Taylor sent a glancing header into the corner of the net.
3-2 With 18 minutes left Albion reduced the arrears in controversial circumstances.
Bednar was down injured and Newcastle players were urging the home side to kick the ball out of play so he could receive treatment.
But Albion played on and Koren slipped the ball through to Fortune, who hammered home his second goal of the game.
WEST BROM: Carson, Hoefkens, Barnett, Meite, Robinson, Kim (Filipe Teixeira 46), Koren, Borja Valero (Moore 84), Brunt (Bednar 46), Morrison, Fortune.
Subs Not Used: Kiely, Cech, Pele, Mulumbu.
NEWCASTLE:Harper, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Ryan Taylor, Nolan, Butt, Duff, Ameobi (Viduka 80), Lovenkrands (Xisco 90).
Subs Not Used: Forster, Cacapa, Smith, Geremi, Edgar.
Att: 25,817